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Can I upgrade Wifi speeds with a USB dongle on a 2012 Air?

R

rbf1138

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Dec 22, 2007
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Assuming there is no environmental constrains, if USB dongle talks 802.11ac and u have a compatible Access Point, it should.
 
The USB 2.0 port has a maximum throughput of 480Mbits/sec. Assuming only one device is using the bus.

The more overhead you have in other processes going on, and add some other USB devices, and your throughput is going to drop.

Realistic expectations are an average of 300Mbits/sec.

So you’re never going to get actual Gigabit speed using a USB dongle.

Your current performance drop is likely from the theoretical maximum of 300 Mbits of your wireless network (Some say 600 Mbits / and other’s advertise Gigabit WiFi).

But, realistically, 300 Mbits per second is what you can expect from a great “N” connection over wireless.

Now you have other factors... you ad noise of other emissions in the building. Lights, microwaves, phones, etc. everything emits noise. And this makes it harder for your signal to stay clear.

Then there’s collisions of packets. And then you have other Wi-Fi devices also pulling data (even if it’s just maintaining an inactive communication).

So then you get what’s left. Your signal navigated through an obstacle course and finally got to your computer and transmitted what you asked for.

It took it a while to make it through the mine field. And there’s your slower 200 Mbits/sec transmission speed.

Stay on wired when possible. Don’t waste money on a dongle. It’s not going to ever give you Gigabit over USB.
 
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rbf1138 said:
Using speedtest.net, on wifi with gigabit internet, I get about 100-200 down.
Click to expand...

That's pretty good for "n". How much more speed, if any, you get with an "ac" USB dongle will depend on the modem, router and dongle.

I searched the reviews on that Amazon link for "macbook" and the results didn't seem very positive.
 
I had a USB > Ethernet adapter and it was fine on my 30Mbps service, but then I got a deal on 500Mbps, and the adapter couldn't get anywhere near that - typically 50-80Mbps (on wi-fi, 150-180). Had to go to the Thunderbolt gigabit adapter to get the speed expected.
 
You should see up to 533Mbps on 5Ghz band at 80mhz.
I’m guessing you need a better AC WiFi router.
Take a look at Asus routers. I’ve been using AC68 for many years with great success.
 
I have a 2012 MacBook Pro 15 retina and I upgraded the Wifi n card to ac from a 2013 model, It was $25 on eBay!
 
KGB7 said:
You can’t upgrade it on Air. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
You can upgrade the wifi card in a 2012 MBA with one from 2013 or 2014. I just did it.

Granted, the replacement card is longer and therefore the screw will be useless to hold it in place. Also the antenna leads need to be removed from the metal clip that's attached to the left hinge in order to get them to reach the longer card.

Faster wifi plus the ability to unlock my MBA with my watch is pretty sweet. Not bad for a 6 year old computer.

EDIT: oh, and the best part is that it cost $3.45 for the ac wifi card.

dt
 
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